Hook secures gag-removal hearing

The Hook has been granted a hearing on its motion to open the gag on records and proceedings of the two Albemarle County youths convicted in juvenile court of conspiring to blow up schools and kill classmates. The newspaper's motion was filed earlier this week and will be heard by Judge Paul Peatross on June 27. All parties to the case have been notified and agreed to the timing. "If it is true that a fifteen-year-old boy and a sixteen-year-old were tried for a crime that would be a felony if they were adults, then the community is impacted by this crime, and the community should know what happened and why as a result of these adjudications," reads the Hook petition. The secrecy in the cases has created some local confusion about just what has occurred and what the evidence might be– and even led to some suggestions that there might have been a false confession. Despite the convictions (one of which arose from a guilty plea), legal authorities point out that juvenile court is not considered a "court of record," The two boys, now 16 and 17, are appealing their convictions in Albemarle Circuit Court. #

2 comments

Steve June 17th, 2006 | 3:47pm

I thought the evidence included a few firecrackers found in a locked safe? I feel much better knowing these are off the street! I hate the thoughts of some kid running around with a pack of firecrackers in his back pocket. He could walk into McDonalds and blow up a Big Mac! :)

In my humble opinion, and for what it's worth, the entire investigation has just been somebody within the police department trying to make a name for themselves. I personally know how a few of them operate.

Gail June 19th, 2006 | 5:18pm

Many people in this community still wonder what actually happened in this story. If the truth can be revealed without inflicting more damage on the four students involved and their families, I hope that Hook succeeds in ungagging this story.